Mammalian epithelial tissue, in particular skin tissue, forms a barrier between the mammalian body and the outside world. A healthy and youthful looking skin is generally sought after and there is a continuous demand for improvements in the field of skin care and/or skin rejuvenation, both for curative and cosmetic purposes. The presently provided system and method address such demands.
Human skin tissue comprises dermis and epidermis layers, wherein the stratum corneum is the outermost layer of the epidermis. Suitable techniques for treatment of epithelial tissue may comprise application of one or more topical formulations, and, for particular treatments, topically applied formulations are used, which should cross the stratum corneum and/or lower epithelial layers.
A manner to provide increased transport of topical formulations into the skin and across the stratum corneum is known from US 2002/0062101, which discloses a method and an apparatus for delivering compounds through epithelial cell layers, using impulse transients. The method involves applying a compound to, e.g., the stratum corneum of a patient and then inducing impulse transients to create transient increases in the permeability of epithelial tissue, thereby facilitating delivery of the compound across the epithelial cell layer. The impulse transient can be generated by exposing a target material to a pulsed laser beam and ablating or rapidly heating the target material.
This known method is critically dependent on the mechanical coupling between the target material and the medium, in which the impulse transient is to be induced. Hence, the amount of the compound that is delivered through the epithelial cell layer is neither accurately known nor reliable and/or controllable. Furthermore, ablation of the target material unavoidably produces debris, which may contaminate the apparatus and/or the subject being treated.
Therefore, improvements in transporting topical formulations into the skin are particularly desired.